Problems starting car (already searched, not main relay, fuel pump resistor)...

Joined
19 December 2008
Messages
263
Location
East bay, CA
Hi everyone,

As of last week, my car does not start. The engine cranks but doesn't turn over. The car is an 02 with 20k miles, is rarely driven and sits on a battery tender. I checked battery condition, oil level, and have a full tank of gas. Fuel filter was replaced last year along with other preventative items.

Prior to this, i've had a rare symptom where the car would have an issue starting when the engine was already warm; waiting a minute and trying again would usually do the trick. This was a rare occurrence and I didn't think much about it, but the overall symptom was similar.

I did a search and it sounded like it may have been the main relay, so I ordered a new one and installed it this evening but it had no effect. Out of curiosity, I opened up the old one to inspect and all the connections were in tact.

Next I tried bypassing the fuel pump resistor, but that doesn't seem to have any effect either.

I tried "power cycling" the ignition to prime the fuel pump and up the pressure, but that also doesn't seem to have any impact. FWIW, I don't smell fuel or anything like that (not that I expect to).

So what are my options and next steps?
1) Do I try changing the ignition switch?
2) Is there an issue with the coilpacks or plugs?
3) ...anything else I can try?

The car is currently stranded in the East Bay area, and most of the shops I'd consider taking a look or all in the south bay or Peninsula (~30-40 miles). I can have the car towed that far if needed but if there's a simple fix I'd love to find it.
 
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Could be quite a few things, you can pull out a coil, insert the plug in it and check for spark.
Don't suspect your coilpacks or your ICM having a issue with so little mileage.

Dirty injectors is possible but again unlikely.
Have you confirmed that the pump is working and that there is fuel pressure?
(remove one of the banjo connections to your fuel filter and place it in a large bottle, then have some one crank the engine)

If you do have the correct tool you can loosen the small 8mm bolt on the main banjo connection and screw in the pressure gauge.
Other item to check would be fuel pressure regulator.
 
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Thats a good point. I'll check for fuel pressure when I get home this evening. If that goes well, I'll check for spark.

I'll report back with my findings. Thanks!
 
Yeah, check fuel pressure and see if you get any, my car had a problem too and it could be you have old gas in there that could cause the filter to be messed up even after you changed it last year
 
How about the igniter (aka ignition control unit)? I had one go out on an Accord that wasn't all that old once and until the problem was diagnosed and fixed, the car would crank all day but would never start.
 
Unfotunately I haven't had a chance to look at this yet. I had a trip planned for the weekend and am just arriving back this evening. Fuel is definitely my assumption so I should know soon. The fact that the car isn't near my house makes this more difficult so I may have it towed to my house tomorrow so I can sort this thing out :(
 
sof, good call on the igniter. Turns out it was the ICM. I wonder how this part failed as the car is garage kept and has low mileage...and hasn't seen a lot of 'hard' usage yet (first track day planned in november). Anyway, thanks everyone for the input!
 
Cost for the ICM? Part #('91)?
Where is it mounted? In the engine compartment? (Is it the module under the four vacuum lines on top of the throttle body?)

EDIT --
I found it in the manual (page 23-92) -- Anyone have a current part number (for '91) and price? (to buy as a spare part)
 
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sof, good call on the igniter. Turns out it was the ICM. I wonder how this part failed as the car is garage kept and has low mileage...and hasn't seen a lot of 'hard' usage yet (first track day planned in november). Anyway, thanks everyone for the input!

If you haven't replaced the igniter module yet, make sure the grounding on the igniter is good. A bad ground can cause a no-spark situation. If you did a diagnose by replacement, your act of replacing may have fixed up the ground and your original igniter might be OK. It might be worth hanging on to, then again, it might just be more junk accumulating in the garage!
 
oops, sorry about that...thanks tof!

Unfortunately, I have another update...The car was actually diagnosed to have an ICM issue and it was replaced, only to find out that the ICM wasn't the issue. The shop has been working with the Acura Tech Line to solve the issue and they've gotten to a point where they think there's an issue within the ECU/PCM that's keeping the engine from starting. Does this seem reasonable? Has anyone heard of an ECU randomly dying?
 
I have used techron in the past, but haven't added any in a very long time. The weekend before this happened, I had just filled up with a fresh tank of gas.

Out of curiosity, how exactly would the fuel additives have made a difference?
 
your tank could have been dirty and from first hand experience, all the grim and even the additives took a toll on my fuel pump so when the tech pulled my fuel filter out to see what kinda gas was coming out from it, the gas was a metal grey looking color which cause the car not to start since it was so bad. and thats after getting my fuel filter replaced about 20k miles ago
 
oops, sorry about that...thanks tof!

Unfortunately, I have another update...The car was actually diagnosed to have an ICM issue and it was replaced, only to find out that the ICM wasn't the issue. ...

DOH...looks like my perfect record of misdiagnosis is still intact. Good luck with the propeller-heads from Acura. Yeah, I can see about a dozen ways the ECU could be messed up that would keep the car from starting but I've not heard of an NSX ECU failing. Still quite possible, though.
 
There are 3 things you need to make the car run....1)fuel....have the dealership check fuel pressure and listen for the injector pulse with stethoscope.......2) spark....have the dealership check for spark...... 3) compression...... do a compression check.. If you find it is lack of fuel or lack of spark that is your problem. Let's hope it is not lack of compression on all cylinders as this is major......Good Luck
 
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